1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to wrenches, and more specifically, to a universal wingnut wrench adapted to permit wingnuts to be installed and removed under difficult conditions, including installation on or removal from over-length studs, or installation or removal where access to the stud is very limited.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In the past, wingnuts have been extensively utilized in conjunction with various threaded members, such as bolts or studs, to serve as fasteners. While wingnuts are inherently provided with ears to permit manual installation and removal from the threaded members, it was often difficult to apply sufficient torque by hand to either tighten the wingnut to the desired degree, or to remove a wingnut which had been overtightened. Overtightening often occurred, for example, where the installer had used pliers, or a screwdriver wedged between an ear of the wingnut and the body of the wingnut, to apply substantial torque to the wingnut. Another example of such an overtightened condition occurred where the wingnut was used to fasten a wooden object such as a box, which object subsequently absorbed sufficient water to expand, and therby apply added load to the wingnut. A need existed for a wingnut wrench which could apply greater torque to the wingnut than was possible to apply by hand alone.
A typical application involving wingnuts, such as fastening together the various components of a display for shipment, often required that various sizes of studs and wingnuts be utilized. Typically, the wingnuts also had different ear spans and thicknesses. A need existed for a wingnut wrench capable of effectively engaging various sizes of wingnuts.
Often, wingnuts were required to be installed in locations having extremely limited access. Since the wingnut had to be exactly aligned with the axis of the stud to permit the threads to properly engage one another, a need existed for a wingnut wrench capable of maintaining a wingnut in a particular axial alignment even where the stud was not fully accessible by hand.
Various attempts were made in the past to solve these problems. A typical example of such attempts is illustrated by U.S. Pat. No. 3,071,995, issued on Jan. 8, 1963 to W. E. Ruthrauff, for a Tool for Fasteners. While the device disclosed by that patent did provide for engaging a wingnut to permit greater torque to be applied than would be possible by hand, its construction was suited to use with only a single size of wingnut. The Ruthrauff device also made no provision for maintaining the wingnut in axial alignment for installation in marginally accessible locations.
Another example of an attempt to provide a solution to the previously outlined problems is illustrated by U.S. Pat. No. 3,086,414 issued on Mar. 1, 1961 to G. Nardi for a Combination Wrench. That device also allowed additional torque to be applied to a wingnut, but again made no provision for use on wingnuts of varying sizes, nor did it provide for keeping the wingnut in communication with the wrench to allow axial alignment to be acheived in difficult access situations.
A need continued to exist for a universal wingnut wrench compatible with various sizes of wingnuts, which was also capable of maintaining the axial alignment of the wingnut to permit installation in relatively inaccessible locations.